Coding Projects
by Elise Truchan
Dabbling in several different coding programs including p5, Javascript, and Arduino has made me realize the many uses for coding projects. Game making, message sharing, art creating, and many other uses can be coded. The following are results in this dabbling of coding programs to see what can be created.
You Consume, You Create
An issue that I wanted to address that was very prevalent during the pandemic was how many people would sit at home binging movies and tv shows but not realizing how much energy they consume while doing so. With the combination of the interaction categories of touch visuals, and sound, I wanted to focus on and this issue and came up with the idea of people creating their own energy for the energy they are consuming watching movies and tv.
The main part of the design is the DC motor. I would have hooked the DC motor directly up to the computer to make the video run, but I didn’t wanted the intake of energy to damage my computer so I set up an in between so that one would still use the DC motor to make the video run, but it wouldn’t be directly going into the computer. To solve this design issue I made it so a light sensor is responsible for starting and stopping the video so that when it takes in light and the value is about 1 then the video would play. I then made it so the DC motor would be used to make energy for LEDs that were placed directly around the light sensor.
The fabrication process began with the code for making the video start and stop based on the light sensor values. I connected the Arduino and processing codes so that values from the Arduino would go to processing. Next I focused on the hardware of the project. I put the LEDs attached to the DC motor around the light sensor. I made it so the light sensor and LEDs are on separate circuits so that the DC motor energy does not hurt the computer. An issue that kept happening was that the light from the room I was in would interfere with the light sensor so I made a cardboard box to put the circuit in and a hole for the DC motor to come out so the user could turn it. I also tried putting tinfoil in the box to help amplify the light given off by the LEDs, but I don’t think it helped much.
My goal of this project was to help users see how much energy is used to watch entertainment and how much work it would take to produce this energy if they had to create their own energy for what they consume. This project did achieve this goal especially because of how hard it is to make the video start. The energy and work required by the user is a lot and if more people saw this and had to create their own energy then more might be conscious of the effect on the environment.
The Tinkered Circuit design can be viewed HERE. The project video and images follow.
E.L.P.I.S. Crash Test
This project simulates a vehicle crash test for an attraction. It uses a force sensor, LEDs, and a servo motor that are programed to react to the vehicle weight. As the "weight of humans" is placed on the force sensor, as if humans were buckling to the attraction's vehicle, the servo motor releases the vehicle down the slope. The LEDs signal if the system is ready to perform the test. The term E.L.P.I.S. and idea for an attraction vehicle come from my larger IMA Capstone Project which can be found HERE. This project is a small branch of it. Images and video of the E.L.P.I.S. Crash Test can be found below.
Tune In to Your Partner!
This game is a test to see how "in tune" someone is with the person they are playing against using colors. Colors can trick people’s minds especially if two colors are right next to each other. They can seem to be the same even though there are distanced by a large scale of numbers in the RGB scale. This game takes two people (friends, SOs, or strangers) and sees if they can match each other’s colors on the screen without talking. One person uses a joystick (x axis, y axis, and pushbutton) and the other uses two buttons and a potentiometer to change their colors. Each person has to do work to try to match it because certain starting numbers are randomized at the beginning so each person has to toggle, press, or turn their controllers to win. If the two people are successful then they will get a message on the screen (there is a distance for error so the RGB values don’t need to match exactly). If they are not able to match their numbers by the end of the music then they fail. The music speeds up to warn them that they are running out of time.
Two players experience this project by sitting on opposite sides of the game console. Their controllers are hidden from the other player’s line of sight so they have to watch the colors on the screen to win. It is interactive and made for fun! It can be very hard if the two players aren’t in tune with each other.
Sign Language Machine Learning
When creating project I always keep in mind how someone who has a disability would be able to interact with it. This project combines machine learning with sign language so that when certain words are signed, the program recognizes them and turns them into emojis. The project can be found HERE and the signs that it recognizes are below.
Zombie Food
Try to get to the safe zone without becoming zombie food!
After binge watching The Walking Dead I wondered how well I would fare in a zombie attack. I decided to code my own zombie attack as a game to see if I would survive. The goal of the game is to get from one side of the canvas to the other without touching any of the zombies using the mouse as the player. For the images of the human, zombie, and background I used the linked sources.
The first Zombie Food version can be viewed HERE.
A few weeks after completing the first version of Zombie Food I decided to advance it using sound and microphone input. I changed the control of the human by using the microphone levels to move the human across the screen to the safe zone. This adds a fun user interaction so that the user will have to yell at the screen to make the human not get eaten. The microphone level to move the human on the x axis and the mouseY movement moved the human across the y axis. The user has to take a deep breath to get the human across the screen but it won’t be impossible because they can use the mouse when they need to take a breath. I also added an overall zombie background noise, a noise when the human gets caught by a zombie, and a cheering sound when the human makes it safely across the canvas.
The new Zombie Food version can be viewed HERE (make sure to allow microphone and turn on sound).
Body Tracking Mask
Seeing oneself wearing a virtual mask can be disconcerting as one sees something that can not be felt. This body tracking code puts a virtual mask on the user's face of horns and dragon eyes (image sources linked). Click HERE to see the mask on your face.
Growing and Slurping Snake: Versions of Development
Beginning with the original snake game, I developed the code for three different version. The first being the Growing Snake Game (game linked). This version pops in different colors when a circle is eaten.
The next version is the Slurping Snake Game (game linked). This version's goal is to eat the crunchiest apples as the player moves the snake using only their voice. The program recognizes the words "up", "down", "left", and "right" to verbally control where the snake moves. When the player eats a mouse, another one appears for the player to eat again. If the player finds a mouse hard to get to, they can say the word “crunch” to scare that mouse away and another one will appear in a different location. It would be as if the snake slithered over a crunchy leaf and scared the mouse away. The player can then direct the snake to the new mouse and slurp them up. When the player catches a mouse a slurping noise is made (so remember to turn up your volume!). When the snake catches a mouse the snake grows big for a second as he digests the mouse and then returns to normal size ready to catch another mouse. If the player runs the snake off of the board then a screen pops up and says “you lost the mouse so the snake ate you” and a hissing noise happens. This tells the player that they lost and have to start over again. My inspiration for this was to create a game for people who are not able to use hands to control the game. This gives people the opportunity to use a different function than what is normally used to control a game. Credits to the field image, mouse, snake, and sounds are linked.
